Electrolytic production of succinic acid



Patented Jan. 4, 1944 ELECTROLYTIC PRODUCTION OF SUCCINIC ACID Yoshitaro 'l'akayama, Onden, Shibnya-kn, Tokyo, Japan; vested in the Alien Property Custodian No Drawing. Application May 8, 1940, Serial No. 334,067. In Japan May 19, 1989 4 Claim (Cl. 204-78) The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing succinic acid, which consists in employing tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol which is of succinic acid, there are few to be had easily in large quantities. Especially, such materials have the disadvantage of requiring complicated operation for the manufacture of succinic acid.

According to the present invention, succinic acid can be produced easily by employing as the starting material tetra hydrociuriuryl alcohol, namely, the reduction product of the iuriuryl easily obtained by the treatment of chaiis, straw,

which are no better than the wastes of agricultural products,:with dilute mineral acid;

electrolysing the same in dilute sulphuric acid with an undivided electrolysing cell having no diaphragm by passing a suitable amount of electric current through it with insoluble anode (for example, lead and lead peroxide) and thus eiiectin its electrolytic oxidation.

To describe the chemical change of said electrolytic oxidation briefly, it is presumed to be as follows:

CH:CH1 onr-crn m err-onion coon coon o (m and (II), succinic acid. The mechanism oi the intermediate stage of the oxidation is still under discussion. I

The iollowing is an example at the manner of periorming this invention:

Dissolve one part oi the initial material, tetrahydroiurfuryi alcohol, in about parts of not-- In the above, (I) is tetrahydroiuriuryl alcohol;

mal sulphuric acid solution, and using lead peroxide anode and lead cathode in the undivided electrolysing cell having no diaphragm, pass a suitable amount oi electric current (for instance, 12 faradays per mol.) at the current density of about 2 amperes per square decimeter. Then, succinic acid will be produced easily with a good .yield. By the way, the terminal voltage between the electrodes should be about 3 volts.

The thus-obtained electrolyte may be extracted with a solvent, but the crytsals may be separated directly by concentrating it and therefore if it is recrystallized out from water and refined, 7.5 parts of succinic acid is yielded from 10 parts of the starting material.

I claim:

1. The process of manufacturing succinic acid which consists in dissolving tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol in a dilute solution of sulphuric acid and oxidizing it by passing an electric current through the solution between insoluble electrodes.

2. The process oi manufacturing succinic acid which consists in dissolving tetrahydroiuriuryl alcohol in a dilute solution of sulphuric acid and oxidizing it by passing an electric current through the solution between insoluble electrodes, the

anode of which is lead peroxide.

3. The process of manufacturing succinic acid which consists in dissolving tetrahydrofuriuryl alcohol in a dilute solution of sulphuric acid, oxidizing it by passing an electric current through the solution between insoluble electrodes, concentrating the resultant solution and separating the succinic acid by crystallization.

4. The process of manufacturing succinic acid which consists in dissolving one part of tetrahydroiuriuryl alcohol in ten parts of normal sulphuric acid solution, and oxidizing it by passing two amperes of electricity per square decimeter at three volts through the solution between a lead peroxide anode and a lead cathode and separating the succinic acid from the resulting solution. 

